Embodiments of the present invention relate to collaboration tools, and more particularly relate to techniques for facilitating collaboration between participants of a software-supported process or workflow.
In today's challenging and competitive business environment, organizations are constantly seeking to improve the productivity and efficiency of their business operations. To help achieve this goal, many organizations have invested significant resources in purchasing and implementing business application software (e.g., enterprise resource management (ERP) software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, employee relationship management (ERM) software, etc.). Generally speaking, these applications support the execution of business processes within an organization, thereby improving operational efficiency, adherence to organization policy, and realization of business objectives.
Occasionally, problems may arise in the course of operating of such software that prevent a particular execution instance (i.e., transaction) of a business process from being processed or completed successfully. These problems may occur, for example, if transaction details are incorrectly entered into the software by the originator of the transaction, or if an aspect of the transaction does not adhere to company policy. In these situations, some level of communication or collaboration between participants of the business process is generally required to discuss and resolve the issues.
In current practice, such collaboration is typically handled through manual means, outside of the context of the business application. For example, one business process participant (i.e., the collaboration initiator) may attempt to contact another participant via email, instant message, telephone, or the like to address an issue with a particular transaction. However, this type of manual approach is problematic for several reasons. For example, in order to attempt contact, the collaboration initiator must first switch away from the context of the business application to manually search for the contact information of the other participant (i.e., email address, telephone number, etc.). This process is cumbersome and potentially time-consuming, resulting in operational inefficiencies and delays.
Once the initiator does get in touch with the other participant, the initiator may have a difficult time conveying the context of the transaction or the problem. This is particularly true if the transaction/issue is complex, or if the other participant does not remember many details of the transaction. Thus, additional time may be expended on simply establishing the purpose or nature of the collaboration.
Further, there may be certain scenarios where the collaboration initiator does not know who she should contact in the first instance to resolve a problem with a transaction. For example, consider a situation where a business process end-user needs to contact a business function representative (i.e., a business owner of a step in a business process) to receive clarification on how to initiate a transaction, or to receive information regarding a completed or processed transaction. In many cases, the end-user will not know who to contact in order to address her issues or questions. In some organizations, the end-user may be able to contact a business function helpdesk or service center for guidance. However, the help desk or service center representative may not have the right skills or knowledge to fully resolve the end-user's issue. The end-user would then need to collaborate with another, hopefully more qualified representative, explain the context of the transaction/problem again, etc. This process may be iterated multiple times until the end-user is finally matched with an appropriate representative, thereby reducing the overall efficiency of business operations.